ZWEDRU, Grand Gedeh County — The Civil Service Agency (CSA), working alongside the Ministry of Health (MoH), has officially commenced a Health Workforce Baseline Study aimed at improving accountability, eliminating staffing irregularities, and strengthening service delivery across Liberia’s southeastern health sector.
The initiative was formally launched on Saturday at the Martha Tubman Memorial Hospital in Zwedru by CSA Director-General Dr. Josiah F. Joekai Jr., marking the start of a detailed verification exercise covering five counties: Grand Gedeh, River Gee, Sinoe, Maryland, and Grand Kru.
The launch ceremony attracted senior government officials and local stakeholders, including Grand Gedeh Superintendent Alex Chersia Grant, River Gee County Education Officer Jallah Sammy, and Grand Gedeh County Health Team Administrator Isaac Zulu, alongside health workers and community representatives.
Speaking at the event, Dr. Joekai underscored that the exercise is part of broader public sector reforms designed to enhance efficiency, transparency, and discipline within government institutions.
“Our objective at the CSA is to streamline the public service, remove redundancies, and correct inefficiencies in the system. This is a deliberate and necessary process,” he stated.
The baseline study will verify the physical presence, employment status, qualifications, and deployment of health workers and volunteers assigned to public health facilities. It will also target the identification of ghost workers, duplication of roles, and inconsistencies in staffing records, while building a reliable national database to support planning and policy decisions.
Dr. Joekai noted that the exercise is grounded in the Civil Service Agency Act of 1973, which empowers the CSA to maintain accurate personnel records and ensure accountability across the public sector. He also commended the Ministry of Health for its collaboration, stressing that the outcomes of the study will inform future reforms aimed at strengthening Liberia’s healthcare system.
Grand Gedeh Superintendent Grant welcomed the initiative, describing it as a timely intervention that promotes responsible governance and addresses long-standing concerns, particularly regarding volunteer health workers who have served without formal inclusion on the national payroll.
Following the launch, the verification process immediately began at Martha Tubman Memorial Hospital, where more than 50 staff members and volunteers submitted their credentials for review by CSA personnel analysts and data technicians.
According to officials, the southeastern exercise will serve as a pilot phase for a nationwide verification program expected to modernize personnel management in Liberia’s health sector.
The CSA says the findings from the study will guide actionable reforms aimed at optimizing the workforce and improving the overall quality of healthcare delivery across the country.
